MHD department at HZDR Dresden

Key activities: Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is the research area focusing on the dynamics of electrically conducting liquids under the influence of electromagnetic fields. The research activities at HZDR cover a wide range from fundamental to applied research comprising activities in the fields of high-temperature energy conversion systems, new kinds of liquid metal batteries, the production of solar-grade silicon, CO2 free production of hydrogen, liquid metal targets in modern neutron or particle sources and transmutation systems, casting and solidification of steel and light metals, welding and soldering processes, to basic laboratory experiments with relevance to liquid metal cooled systems, materials processing as well as to geo- and astrophysics. The knowledge and experiences arising from the fundamental research activities provide a solid basis for the development of innovative MHD technologies in the branches metallurgy, casting, crystal growth and electrochemistry. The availability of appropriate measurement techniques is a necessity for any experimental work on liquid metal technologies and therefore a fundamental prerequisite for our research program. During the last two decades, considerable effort was spent at HZDR on the development and qualification of techniques to measure the flow in metallic melts. Especially, significant progress has been achieved in the field of non-invasive measuring techniques such as inductive and ultrasonic methods or the X-ray radioscopy. The department includes about 50 researchers.